Equalizing spring bolster for railroad cars



June 1957 c WILLIAMS EQUALIZING SPRING BOLSTER FOR RAILROAD CARS Filed Feb. 4, 1965 United States Patent 3,323,470 EQUALIZING SPRING BOLSTER FOR RAILROAD CARS Ray C. Williams, Chicago, 111., assignor to Standard Car Truck Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Feb. 4, 1965, Ser. No. 430,366 4 Claims. (Cl. 105197) This invention is a modification of my copending application Ser. No. 391,138, filed Aug. 21, 1964, relating to improvements in equilizing bolster for railroad cars and has for one object to provide an equalizing bolster wherein the load of the car carried by a railroad car truck will be equally distributed on both sides of the truck at points widely removed from the center line of the car and wherein no vertical load is carried by the usual car and truck center plates.

Another object is to adapt the structure to a special type of side frame window.

Another object is to positively tie the car truck frames together to maintain them in proper alignment,

Another object is to provide means for damping the vertical expansion and contraction of the load supporting rings.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein FIGURE 1 is a plan view in part section with many parts omitted of a railroad car truck;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation in part section of the device shown in FIGURE 1.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

Two parallel car truck frames 1 are windowed as indicated at 2, the window being larger than usual design. The frames are joined together by a transom channel 3 pinned, bolted or welded to the car frames and extending through the Windows 2. Resting on the outboard ends of the transom 3 are load supporting springs 4 extending upwardly from the transom adjacent the longitudinal center line of the frame. Interlocking with the transom are bearing logs 5 and 6 to receive a scissors bolster pin 7 on which is pivoted the narrow lower end of a scissors bolster 8. This bolster extends diagonally upward toward the opposite car frame, is widened adjacent such frame as at 9 to enter the window 2 and rests upon the load supporting springs 4. Between the center of the truck and the side frame is an upwardly extending bearing boss 10'. The windows 2 are bounded by vertical friction plates 11 which engage friction shoes 12 biased into friction relationship with the bolster on the one hand and the friction plate on the other by springs 13.

Extending upwardly from the opposite end of the transom 3 are spaced arms 14 which pivotally support the wider spaced lugs 15 of another upwardly and diagonally inclined bolster which is widened at its upper end as at 16, enters the opposite frame and is supported by springs 4 and has a similar bearing boss 10. Spaced arms 15 are on the outside of the arms of the bolster 8. A pivot pin 17 is rigidly mounted in one bolster and passes through the other, there being clearance between the pin and the bolster through which it loosely passes so that as the bolsters rotate compressing the springs on the various loads, with the lower ends of the bolster anchored to the transom, the elearance between the pin and the bolster permits up and down movement of the pivot without interfering with the scissors action.

Each bolster carries one half of the center plate retainer 18, the center plate retainer being split immediately ice above the axis of intersection of the two bolsters, there being clearance as at 19 between the two center plate retainer sections to permit up and down movement of the center plate retainer sections without interference.

The usual railroad car center sill 20 extends longitudinally of the car, carries the railroad car bolster 21 terminating in side bearings 22 in opposition to the boss 10 so that the load of the car is applied through those side bearings upon the bolster and the upper ends of the bolsters transfer the load to the truck frame through the springs.

Downwardly depending from the car bolster 21 is the male center plate 23 which interlocks with the two part center plate 18, the clearance between the parts being such that all the load is carried by the side bearings and no part of the weight of the car is carried by the center plates, leaving the center plate to function merely as a pivot to permit pivotal rotation of the truck with respect to the car.

Each upper end of each bolster where it penetrates the truck window is damped as above indicated by the friction wedge biased for frictional relationship between the fixed plate and the truck windows and the bolster.

Because of the fact that the lower ends of the two scissors bolsters are held against horizontal movement as the springs expand and contract and the outer upper ends of the bolsters move up and down and the two bolsters pivot upon one another, there is a resultant movement of the upper bolster ends transverse of the truck frame and there is a slight angular displacement of the bolster and the wedge biased into frictional relationship between it and the sides of the window. This movement, however, is so slight that it has no noticeable effect on the damping device and effectiveness of the friction shoe to overcome and damp out excessive spring vibration.

The fact that each bolster at its lower end is pivotally anchored on the transom and the transom is rigidly mounted at both ends in the frame insures that the center plates while free to move up and down is constrained to movement with the bolsters and so is not free to move either longitudinally or transversely of the truck.

Each scissors bolster includes a relatively wide upper end which extends through a window in the truck frame and carries adjacent the truck frame a bearing boss between the truck side frame and the vertical plane of the center line of the truck. Each bolster provides a retainer that circumscribes somewhat less than one-half of the car body center plate. One bolster is bifurcated with one tine of the fork on each side of the other bolster where the bolsters intersect and are loosely pivoted together. The bifurcations of the outer bolster come together toward their end where the bolster is pivoted. The other bolster is bifurcated only at its outermost and where it is pivoted.

It is claimed:

1. In a railroad car truck, parallel side frames, a transom extending across the truck and tieing them together, load supporting springs carried by each truck frame, a pair of upwardly inclined scissors bolsters, each pivoted at its lower end on one of the truck frames, extending across the truck and resting upon the load supporting springs on the other truck frame, bearing bosses extending upwardly from each bolster near the spring supported end thereof to support a car, characterized by the fact that each bolster carries one of the segments of a two part female center plate retainer, the two parts being separated by a clearance area parallel to the truck frames and of such width that as the bolsters rock up and down about their pivot ends no contact between the segments can occur.

2. The device of claim 1 characterized by the fact that one scissors bolster straddles the other at their point of intersection so that they may separately rotate about their pivots.

3. The device of claim 1 characterized by the fact that the bolsters at their lower ends are bifurcated and apertured to recieve pivot pins to anchor them on the car truck.

4. The device of claim 1 characterized by the fact that the truck frames are windowed the upper spring supported ends of the bolsters penetrate the windows and spring pressed dampening means are interposed between such upper ends and the windows.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 2/1937 Germany.

ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A RAILROAD CAR TRUCK, PARALLEL SIDE FRAMES, A TRANSOM EXTENDING ACROSS THE TRUCK AND TIEING THEM TOGETHER, LOAD SUPPORTING SPRINGS CARRIED BY EACH TRUCK FRAME, A PAIR OF UPWARDLY INCLINED SCISSORS BOLSTERS, EACH PIVOTED AT ITS LOWER END ON ONE OF THE TRUCK FRAMES, EXTENDING ACROSS THE TRUCK AND RESTING UPON THE LOAD SUPPORTING SPRINGS ON THE OTHER TRUCK FRAME, BEARING BOSSES EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM EACH BOLSTER NEAR THE SPRING SUPPORTED END THEREOF TO SUPPORT A CAR, CHARACTERIZED BY THE FACT THAT EACH BOLSTER CARRIES ONE OF THE SEGMENTS OF A TWO PART 